2016 Mercury Prize albums of the year: “music to make sense of our unsettling times”

Nominations for 2016’s album of the year have been announced and include David Bowie, Radiohead, Michael Kiwanuka and The 1975

The 2016 Mercury Prize ‘Albums Of The Year’ have been revealed at a launch event, hosted by Shaun Keaveny, and they were also announced live on Lauren Laverne’s BBC Radio 6 Music show. The Mercury Prize celebrates and promotes the best of UK music, recognising artistic achievement across an eclectic range of contemporary music genres.

For the first time, an online vote will enable music fans to select the first of six 2016 finalists from the 12 selected, which opens at midday on Thursday 4 August. The shortlist, five remaining finalists and overall winner are all chosen by a judging panel, based solely on artistic merit.

Speaking about their choice of 12 albums, the panel stated: “This is music to make sense of our unsettling times – heartfelt, angry, thoughtful and thrilling. The 2016 Hyundai Mercury Prize ‘Albums of the Year’ are marked by their musical ambitions, unexpected instrumentation and breathtaking arrangements.”

The full shortlist is as follows:

Anohni – Hopelessness

Bat For Lashes – The Bride

David Bowie – Blackstar

Jamie Woon – Making Time

Kano – Made In The Manor

Laura Mvula – The Dreaming Room

Michael Kiwanuka – Love & Hate

Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool

Savages – Adore Life

Skepta – Konnichiwa

The 1975 – I Like It When You Sleep, For You Are So Beautiful Yet So Unaware Of It

The Comet Is Coming – Channel the Spirits

All six finalists and the overall winner will be announced as part of the 2016 Awards Show, which will take place on Thursday 15 September at the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith. The event will feature live performances from the shortlisted artists and will culminate in the announcement of the overall winner. BBC Music will be providing live television and radio coverage of the event on BBC Four and BBC Radio 6 Music with additional content at bbc.co.uk/music and via the BBC Music app. For more details, go to: mercuryprize.com